An Army battalion seizes a boat inside the Yanomami Indigenous Land (TI) with R$2,650 in cash, grams of gold, crack, cocaine base, and 9 mm ammunition. During the approach, it is noted that the pilot is a cousin of one of the soldiers present in the operation.
The connection between the military and the targets of the operations is narrated in other situations, as described in two preliminary intelligence reports by Funai (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples) made in 2019, at the beginning of the Jair Bolsonaro government, to which Folha had access.
The documents point to a close relationship between members of the Army who operated in Roraima and the already growing illegal mining in the Yanomami territory, today in a state of emergency.
Reports show that miners were related to military personnel from the Seventh Infantry Battalion of the Jungle, who in turn leaked information about operations to combat illegal activity and allowed the circulation of gold or drugs through the payment of bribes.
Folha questioned Funai and the Ministry of Defense about what measures had been taken regarding the information collected during the incursion and whether the allegations had been investigated, but did not receive a response.
Translated by Cassy Dias